Contractor convicted of tax evasion

Updated 9:38 pm, Friday, November 8, 2013

SAN ANTONIO — A contractor formerly of San Antonio and Blanco was convicted Friday of all five counts he faced for dodging tens of thousands of dollars in taxes on defense contract jobs.

Daniel Isaiah Thody, 45, argued that he didn't have to pay taxes on the $1 million profit he made from $1.5 million in government contracts for providing small parts for aircraft.

He argued, in part, that federal tax laws do not apply to him.

Money has no value, Thody contended. He also disputed the government's definitions in the tax code, such as “source of income.”

“A source of income is not income,” argued Thody, who represented himself. “If you get a hamburger from McDonald's and if they ask you, 'Where did the hamburger come from?' McDonald's is the source. But is McDonald's a hamburger? No.”

The Internal Revenue Service accused Thody of not filing tax returns as he used WET Publishing to get 117 military contracts from 2005 to 2010.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Roomberg said in closing arguments that Thody put the company in the name of his father, a convicted and imprisoned bank robber, and used Thody's daughter's bank account to deposit the earnings from the contracts — all to hide income from the IRS.

“The taxes due and owing for those years range from $15,000 to $50,000,” Roomberg said.

Thody faces up to five years in prison on each count. U.S. District Judge Orlando Rodriguez is expected to sentence him early next year.